Polonistaudinger. Im the dean of the college of social Behavioral Sciences here, the Beautiful University of arizona. And were happy to be hosting event. And i was honored to moderate this panel. Id like to introduce our panelists and then well get right questions. Maybe you can wave hand as i introduce you. Fpn olivarez is the author of my bible die of sorrow, a memoir of immigration from the lines, published by hatchet books in 2022. Hes the Deputy Director of the immigrant Justice Project at the southern poverty law center. He was the lead lawyer, and his success, a landmark petition to the interim commission on human rights on behalf of families separated under the zero tolerance policy. He previously directed the and Economic Justice program at texas civil rights project and his writings on Immigration Law and policy have appeared. The New York Times, usa today and newsweek. Hes also testified before congress about immigration and border policies as part of his work representing, separated families was featured in. The 2019 cbs news documentary the faces of family separation. And he just found out recently that his book was selected as a finalist for the texas literary for nonfiction. Olivares was the first member of his family to attend college. He is a graduate of the university of pennsylvania and yale law school. Next to him. We have told you already, but hes the White House Bureau chief for the Washington Post and coauthor of his is george floyd one mans life and the struggle for Racial Justice, published by Penguin House in 2022. Previous to the post, tolliver spent five years at bloomberg news, where he reported on politics and policy from washington and florida he has reported from five continents and more than 20 countries. As part of the president ial press corps. He started his career at miami herald, where he covered estate, natural disasters and crime, sometimes all at once once, holding a b. A. And m. A. In sociology from Stanford Taylor has been honored as a National Book awards finalist. Receive the george polk award for justice reporting and is a peabody award winner. And then we have Steve Phillips is a National Political leader, bestselling author and columnist. He is the author, the New York Times bestseller brown is the new white house demographic revolution has created a american majority in his current book how to win the civil securing a multiracial democracy and ending White Supremacy for good was published in 2022 by the new press. Steve is columnist for the guardian in the nation and an opinion contributor to the New York Times. He is the host of democracy in color with Steve Phillips, a color conscious polit pod on politics. He is the founder democracy in color, a Political Organization dedicated to race, politics and the progressive new american majority is a graduate of Stanford University and the university of California College of law, san francisco, and practiced civil rights and Employment Law for many years. Please welcome steve. So i told you my first question is to you. You write in your book and im quoting how the murder of george floyd sparked a movement where we saw white suburban moms march in the streets along poor black boys to demand that their country treat them. Why do you think mr. Floyds death sparked this sort of when countless others had killed by the police before him . And has this same passion persist since then. And in an answering this if you can speak a little bit to the of George Floyds death. Thank you for this question and thank you to this entire crowd for coming here. My coauthor and i have been really gratified to see many people are still interested in these subjects and still willing to have these conversations, even though weve seen backlash to this kind of discussion of backlash, these kinds of books. So i really appreciative of of your attendance and so to the question why did George Floyds death three years ago spark the kind of reaction that it did . I think there are a number of different factors. If you were to rewind the clock back to may of 2020, we were in the middle of, a pandemic that was scary for a lot of people. And people were stuck at home. People were not allowed to have the normal diversions that we normally have in life concert arts and sports games and, you know, the kinds of gatherings that we normally have. And so when the video of George Floyds death ended up running on news news feeds, we had to sit and Pay Attention and watch and it wasnt sort one of these grainy videos where theres a shot that happens in a split second. And you kind of question whether not the decision was the right decision, whether the officer might have feared for his life. This was nine and a half minutes of someone dying on camera, screaming for life, pleading for mercy, crying for his mother. And so theres something universally about the way he died, the way he was murdered that struck a chord with people across all kinds of different backgrounds, across the political spectrum and i think thats one of the reasons why his death created the kind of movement we saw afterward that was unlike some of the other movements that weve seen where its very easy. Use this disinformation to court to make people this disunited over whether or not the officer was in the right, whether or not the person who died deserve to be killed and whatnot. George floyds death heinous in way that struck a chord with from a number of different backgrounds. And so thats one of the reasons i wrote that sentence that way and that, you know, whites, moms and, you know, black boys felt the same way after they saw george floyd die. And they felt the need march to make the country different and the fact that we were in a pandemic at the time, i think everyones attention in a way that its to do when youre not in the middle of trying National Tragedy like the covid 19 pandemic was. And so looking back three years later has that passion. I think its hard to argue that it has not. Have seen not only a number of the things that people were calling for after george floyd died come to pass a of the federal legislation that was called for ended up just sort of dying in washington, d. C. , as things do when they get caught up in, you know the back and forth of our political system. But thats not to say there has been no change. And i think the fact that people are willing to have these discussions to an event like this is a sign that were in a different place than we were on may 24th, 2020, before george floyd killed. I think people are willing to engage with books like these, are willing to have some of these discussions, maybe were difficult to have in past even in the in the of backlash in the face of pushback from a number of people who dont want these conversations to be happening. So its constant battle to try move the country on the issue of race is such a daunting issue for so many people. But i think we have to look at it as a glass full. And the fact that we are still these conversations and we are still having people who are willing to have conversations. And for all the people who are disillusioned or dont want be involved in these kinds of discussions. I think its important, those of us who are open minded to just continue to push and, continue to be open and continue to fight for that of enlightenment among people. The first step in getting people to change minds is for them to open their minds and for them to understand the life of someone like george floyd and how we as, a country, owe it to. The young boys who are still to make their mistakes and yet to make their decisions and yet to be become about the american dream, to have a shot and have a chance. And so i hope that a book like the book that i wrote and a lot of the other books that were written after george floyd died will give us an opportunity to some of those issues. Thank you. Steve. The next question for, you and i want to read a sentence from introduction of your book that states if we first recognize that we are in a war and then learn the lessons, follow the lead of those who have shown they know how to prevail. We definitely win the civil war, secure a multiracial democracy and end White Supremacy for. Good. Can you explain a little bit what you mean by this and why you chose the militarized analogy in describing your book . Yes. Thank you. And i also think the all of the organizers of the festival and of this panel in particular, as well as the opportunity to share the stage with my co panelists, whos actually of those books are synergistic with the message that trying to make in this country. And interestingly as i start my book picking up from the end of the civil war and then to talk about George Floyds great great grandfather, what his life was like as an illustration of what black people faced after the civil war and then have a whole chapter on texas and putting into context and its significance historically and for the future of this country and i think that that also, you know, that was drawn out as well. So by argument that i try to lay out in the book is that the civil war never ended. And i that out as a theoretical framework and as a metaphor for understanding this current in politics. A publisher. The new press came to me in april of 2020 about writing another book and said, lets look at civil war as a metaphor. This current moment. And then in january, after that people carrying the confederate flag, wearing sweatshirts, saying maga civil war. January six, 2021, stormed the United States capitol to stop the democratic peaceful transfer of power. And then, as i began to get more into doing the research and understanding the the actual history of country, the civil war itself began when. The candidate, backed by most black people and the losing candidates to accept the elect. The election outcome in 1860 and then succeeded the union. Thats how this civil war actually began in. That we talk a lot about lincoln in this country and hold him up as an example of of a great. You know lincoln was probably among the presidency but we dont understand and didnt understand for writing this book exactly when and exactly why lincoln assassinated. So the civil the surrender the supposed surrender of the civil war happened april. 1865, couple of days. Lincoln gives a speech from white house where he makes, you know, not hearted, but, you know, not radical statements about black suffrage. And then John Wilkes Booth is at that speech turns to his friend and says that means nword, citizenship, the last speech hell ever give. And then wilkes booth, then goes into ford theater a couple of days later and shoots lincoln in the back of the head, five days after the surrender, it appears that. And so not surrendering. And so what i try to draw is a through around how theres what i call a consistent confederate battle plan ever. 1865 that has these multiple elements that part of it is ruthlessly rewriting the rules silently terrorism and that is what is is you know you know you lift up in terms of George Floyds great great grandfather built wealth and then had it taken through white domestic terrorism and then his family was plunged into the struggle that a lot of black people are. So what i try to illustrate in the book is that that we are still engaged in that fight, which is truly an existential battle in this country. And is going to be a multiracial democracy . Or is it going to be a White Nationalist nation . And that continues to this. And thats the subtext sometimes not so sad, but all these attacks on crt through all the attacks on immigration. Right. There is no more question. The very first Immigration Law passed this country in 1796 is to be a u. S. Citizen, have to be a free white person. And weve been fighting that issue. And so what i also try to always that we talk about, you know, mexico and texas and the not texas most the southwest, this country used to be part of mexico until the u. S. Went to war because they wanted to be able to perpetuate slavery. So that battle continues to rage. And then i try to lift up in the second half of the book and all these examples, case studies of places which have made change, not least of which is arizona. And so when arizonans fought against the antiimmigrant, antiimmigrant law, sb 1070, in 2010, it produced a whole generation of activists who have done this work over a decade to register people of color, bring them the electorate changed the composition hundreds of of latinos have become voters over the past decade and that what propelled biden to win this. That is what propelled mark kelly to the senate, which transformed the whole united senate. So thats the kind of the essential essence of the message. And so im putting forward im not advocating a militaristic framework. Im just pointing out that we had a civil war in this country where the equivalent of 7 Million People were killed. Americans against americans. And that the people who waged that fight and their ideological, in some cases, genealogical heirs are continuing that fight. And so im just trying to clarify for us and also to disabuse many us who want this to be a multiracial democracy about the nature of this struggle and that we are not engaged, wellmeaning people who all subscribe to the same social contract. And thats what we saw january six or as an effort to destroy the will of the people. The democratically determined will in order to preserve white nationalism. And that is the essence of the struggle. And thats why im trying to make it very in my book. To ephron. The title of your book is my daughter, my boy will die sorrow. And it stems from a very exchange that you recall in writing the book. Can you this by perhaps reading us a passage that where that phrase comes forward . Thank you, laurie. And thank you to the organizer of the festival for having me here. Its my pleasure to share the stage with stephen and tolu on this very topic that steve was saying permeates not Immigration Law, but every aspect. Our legal system, the criminal legal system, our institutions. In may of 2018, i found myself at a courthouse in, mcallen, texas, where i had been there many times before. But that particular day and in that particular courtroom, i saw over hundred men and women of all ages handcuffed, shackled packed into benches, are typically reserved for the public and who are about to prosecuted for the misdemeanor charge of having crossed the border without authorization. Its a misdemeanor offense that carries the same penalty as running a stop at the pentagon. And yet those who had been traveling a child had been from that child and did not know where the child was, who was caring for them, when they might see them again. And i was there to interview parent and one of those very first interview issues, which is the opening chapter of book, is what ended up giving the title to the book. And i can answer the question by reading a very brief excerpt excerpt. I was to leonel, who was also guatemala. He was less a year younger than me and wore a plaid short sleeved shirt white with, dark and light blue lines and cowboy buttons that kind of snapped together. He must have been no than five feet, seven inches in broken spanish. He explained that he had come his 11 year old son, daniel, like viviana and sandro, another they were traveling alone and they were inseparable. He and daniel were both first time crossers. They had no family in the United States. They were hoping to apply for asylum due to the persecution had faced in their indigenous village. I got all the critical from leonel, but i couldnt believe that the agents had not given him. An information about his son, where he was being taken, or who would care him. Surely the must have told him something about the process and about what to expect. I thought, what do you think would happen . I asked leonel if are deported and your son doesnt go with you if he stays here. He looked down as if thinking about it, and when he looked up, he shook his head. His look was one of resignation. Nope. Was meaningless. And one of the tricks to sell. My boy will die of sorrow. For a second. My eyes didnt leave his. I struggled to write down what he was telling me. I burst my lips and looked down, swallowed hard and couldnt find words to. That. That passage obviously gave the title to the book and its been very meaningful me that its not my voice its the voice of one of the impacted families is that is the title of the book and it was not uncommon to hear during that the summer of 2018 and even today from you know opponents of that policy from opponents of antiarmor on Public Policy to say this is not who we are as a country. This is not america, this is not the true america. So i started writing the book. I lets take a look at the history. How immigrant families been treated in. The u. S. , particularly families who have who were deemed to be white because, who is deemed to be white, has changed over the course of history in the and i was frankly surprised i didnt it was going to be that bad from 1790. You know for the first hundred or so years of the u. S. There was no federal Immigration Law, no restriction. And the restriction was the chinese exclusion. To this day, the only federal law that explicitly a nationality and in its title and explicitly designated to exclude the chinese for the same arguments that we hear today. Theyre bringing in disease. Theyre going to take our jobs. Theyre going to bring crime. Its the same arguments time and again and every time there has been an of nonwhite immigrants, we see the backlash in the